AA boys: CMR wins title; Bison third

CMR players celebrate with fans after earning the state title in the championship game in the Class AA state basketball tournament at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark on Saturday.(Photo: BETHANY BAKER, Gazette Staff)

Behind 25 points from Sam Vining – including three from someplace Rand McNally hasn't found yet – and 17 from Garrison Rothwell, the Rustlers captured the school's first title since 2010, beating the Bozeman Hawks 81-69 Saturday night to conclude this year's classic at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.

Great Falls High also got some hardware, taking third place after beating Billings Senior 65-51 in the consolation championship.

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Great Falls High’s Kyle Torgerson (right, in blue) reaches in to tip the ball away from Missoula Sentinel’s Elias DeWaters in an elimination game Saturday during State AA tournament action at Billings Skyview’s gym.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/LEE VERNOY)

The Bison reached the Saturday night session when they defeated Missoula Sentinel 67-64 Saturday morning, while the Broncs got past Missoula Hellgate 65-61 to get there.

C.M. Russell 81, Bozeman 69 (1st)

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2018 State AA championship game at Rimrock auto Arena in Billings
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CMR's Rothwell wasn't the only one describing this victory as "huge."

Rothwell, Vining, coach John Cislo – just go ahead and say all of Rustler Nation – rocked the Metra when the final horn sounded, bring the curtain down on the 2017-18 Class AA boys' basketball season.

"Our class hasn't seen the state tournament until this year," Rothwell, a 6-3 senior, said. "To be able to come in and win on our first try, I think it's huge for us and for everyone else.

"I think it's a good motivation (for those who will follow)."

Vining, who got jaws to drop when he nailed a trey from 35 feet, was doing a lit bit of laughing as well as crying afterward.

"We played (Bozeman) three times before this," the 6-2 Vining, also a senior, said. "We had a great game plan going in.

"It's hard to beat them. They're a real athletic team. We just decided to stay aggressive and just keep attacking."

It was that attacking offense that got Bozeman's big man, 6-9 senior Mack Anderson, into foul trouble in the first half.

"It's hard to get anything over him," Vining said of Anderson, who led the Hawks (14-11) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. "He got into foul trouble early, and when he's not in the game, he can't hurt us."

""The biggest thing I can say is the character of these kids," Cislo, who was with the team the last time they won the dance, said. "They're fantastic at school, they're fantastic on the court, they worked hard for Danny G.

"They work hard all the time, and it paid off. They've been working hard for three or four years. When they were young kids, they were kind of thrown in the fire – Sam as a freshman, Garrison as a sophomore – they worked hard through a lot of losses to finally get to this point. And I'm proud of these guys."

The CMR (19-4) supporting cast was huge as well: junior Bryce Depping had 15 points, and Jake Olson nailed a pair of treys early in the game, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first half before he was also relegated to the bench with his third foul.

Vining was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, 8-for-12 overall. Three of Rothwell's four field goals were from downtown.

Great Falls High 65, Billings Senior 51 (3rd)

Braxton Haws of Billings Senior hit a 3-pointers right off the opening tip for the early lead. About a minute later, they lost it for good.

The Bison came roaring back, outscoring the Broncs 23-13 in the first quarter, and never looked back.

After C.M. Russell hammered the Bison in the semifinals Friday night, the Bison was bound and determined they weren't going to lose like that again.

Not here.

"We were very tired after losing by 21; it's very difficult," Bison senior center Kevin Boes, who was 3-for-3 from the floor for six points, said. "But the way we responded just shows the brotherhood that we are, and how we came together as a team and pulled together two wins.

"Obviously, at first we were really down (after Friday night), because we couldn't win a state title anymore. But we woke up Saturday morning, we just woke up, came together, and just had fun. We just told ourselves that we'd just play together and see what happens."

Kendall Kynett, who had 18 Saturday morning against Missoula Sentinel, hit all but three of his 13 field goal attempts, and was a perfect 2-for-2 when dialing 9 for long distance. Toss in a pair of free throws, and that spells a game-best 24 markers.

"He's a pretty athletic kid," head coach Bob Howard said of Kynett, a 6-1 senior. "He can jump, and when he goes to the basket under control, he's pretty effective.

"We did a good job of getting him the ball, but he did a great job of creating some great plays himself."

Kyle Torgerson, who will return as a senior next year, added 13 points and a team-high four assists for Great Falls High (20-6).

The Broncs (14-12) got 14 points from Connor Kieckbusch and 11 from Braxton Haws, both playing their final high school game. Also finishing his prep career was Brooks Zimmer, who grabbed a game-high six rebounds while scoring four markers.

Great Falls High 67, Missoula Sentinel 64 (lo)

Consolation semifinal game of State AA Boys' Tournament at Billings Skyview
Wochit

At Billings Skyview's gym, Blake Thelen had 21 points and some key free throws down the stretch when the game turned into a foul-shooting contest.

He made a pair of charity tosses with 38.1 seconds left to put the Bison up by four, and added another to put the game out of reach. He missed the second, got his own rebound and made the putback off the glass.

Kendall Kynett added 18, and Kyle Torgerson drained 14 for the Bison.

Bison head coach Bob Howard said his troops had to have a very short memory, considering they were thumped in the semifinals Friday night by Garrison Rothwell and C.M. Russell. Friday's game was no motivation for them.

"They were independent results," Howard said. "Neither one (of those games) has an effect on the other.

"We just came out and played hard from the start."

Sam Beighle score a game-high 29 for Sentinel, while Gaige DeShazer fouled out in the fourth, but not before he had five 3-pointers to finish with 19.

Billings Senior 65, Missoula Hellgate 61 (lo)

At Rimrock Auto Mall, four Senior Broncs finished in double figures with Sam Evenson pacing the effort with 15 markers in a back-and-forth contest that saw the Broncs lead by as much as seven in the third quarter.

Senior made their free throws in the second half and especially in the final eight minutes. Connor Kieckbusch hit five of his six charity tries in the fourth and finished 9-for-10 from the line – all in the second half – for 12. Braxton Haws, who had 14 points, made all four of his free throws in the last 16 minutes. Brooks Zimmer fouled out with 10 points for the Broncs.

Rollie Worster had a game-high 25 for the Knights, who finished their campaign 17-7. Bridger Deden added a dozen while Kade Lunday tossed in 10.